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How Technology Companies Alienate Women During Recruitment


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A man conducts a woman's job interview.

The way in which technology companies recruit candidates during on-campus information sessions could play a role in dissuading women from such jobs, new research has found.

Credit: MindField Group/Flickr

Stanford University researchers have determined that the way in which technology companies recruit candidates during on-campus information sessions could play a role in dissuading women from such jobs.

The researchers sent a team of observers to 84 recruitment sessions in which 66 companies were seeking to fill technical roles, mostly as entry-level engineers. Although these sessions welcome both men and women, the recruiters missed opportunities to attract women and often pushed them away instead, according to the researchers, potentially deterring women from technology careers.

The team noted presenters focused the conversation on only the highly technical aspects of the job, and often referenced aspects of "geek culture" in their remarks that can be exclusionary to women.

In addition, men overwhelmingly led the sessions, while women focused on discussing company culture.

From Stanford University
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Abstracts Copyright © 2018 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA


 

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